WLR General Election Debate: "That photograph stays with me every day"

The first of the WLR 2024 General Election Debates took place at the Old Bank, Dungarvan on Monday, November 18th.

Seven candidates vying for a seat in the Waterford constituency took part in a two-hour debate chaired by WLR's Damien Tiernan - which was then broadcast on Deise Today on Tuesday, November 19th.

The seven candidates present were - Mary Butler TD (Fianna Fail); Matt Shanahan TD (Independent); Cllr. Conor McGuinness (Sinn Fein); Sadhbh O'Neill (Labour); Ronan Cleary (Aontu); Killian Mangan (Independent) and Aaron Joyce (Independent).

Among the various issues debated on the night was the topic of 24/7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford - and all candidates were given an opportunity to outline their views on the matter.

Fianna Fail TD Mary Butler addressed a photo showing her and Tanaiste Micheal Martin holding a banner outside University Hospital Waterford in 2016 - which read "Fianna Fail will secure 24/7 cardiac care for Waterford".

"I mean this categorically. I stood at that photograph in 2016. That photograph stays with me every day of the week. I will not rest until I get 24-7, 100% cardiac cover. There's other people around this table who have worked tirelessly as well. I give that to Matt Shanahan, who has worked tirelessly in relation to cardiac care, and other people as well - but I do know for a fact, and it has been said to me in the department, only for I was a Minister of State in the Department of Health, I worry whether we would have got those 42 posts over the line. I worked tirelessly behind the scenes."

Independent TD Matt Shanahan says decisions have been made 'where vested interests lie'.

"We know our decisions are made, they are made where vested interests lie. I have great sympathy for Mary, by the way. I said in the Dail recently there was probably an innocence in standing in the photograph with Micheal Martin. Mary may not have known the difficulty of what she was committing to. I can assure you, the Tanaiste certainly knew what he was committing to when he stood in there to win back that seat. There is a deliberate obstruction going to expand the cardiac service in Waterford, and the 90% coverage figure resulting from 8 to 8 has not been proven. That is not counting those who are being picked up in the region and moved out, who do not come to University Hospital Waterford. We do not know what the figures are. Taoiseach Simon Harris was being very disingenuous recently when he said the reason that the service couldn't expand was because the concerns were keeping the clinical standard. That is absolute rubbish."

Sinn Fein Councillor Conor McGuinness says the reality is simple - "You cannot schedule a heart attack."

"It's a disgrace that this has not been solved yet. There has been progress and where that progress has been made, it has to be welcomed. 8 to 8 is not 24 hours though. People don't schedule their heart attacks. People don't schedule becoming unwell. 8-8 is simply not good enough. What we need to see here is a government decision where political activists and politicians sit around this table. We understand how decisions are made. We can clap all day long talking about officials and plans and reports gathering dust on the minister's desk. What we need is a politician and a minister that will make a decision to make this happen. To finally deliver 24-7 - but I would be really, really interested to know, is that report going to be published? Why hasn't it been published? What does it contain? Why hasn't it been seen?".

Labour's Sadhbh O'Neill believes the delay is nothing short of 'a scandal'.

"The idea that you would need an Independent TD or even to have a particular Minister of State appointed in the Department of Health to do what's necessary to get a level playing field for Waterford's premier hospital serving 600,000 people is really questionable. It's actually a scandal. We have levelled the playing field. We have set national standards in respect of cancer care and many other areas. It just isn't applicable for some reason in relation to Waterford and cardiac care."

Aontu's Ronan Cleary says the economic aspect of 24/7 doesn't even merit consideration in the context of delays surrounding the long-awaited National Children's Hospital.

"Finances cannot be an argument in this country where we have an overspend gone from €650m to €2.2bn. It cannot be an economic argument why we don't have the 24-7 care. I humbly suggested to Mary Butler before that maybe we could consider writing to the top specialists in Australia, in New Zealand, in the UK, in Europe, with a view to bringing them over here on fixed contracts for a number of years and setting up a graduate entry medical school with SETU, which would bring money in by itself."

Independent candidate Aaron Joyce believes the blame lies at the feet of the Government.

"The vested interests for government projects seem to delay the help that's needed. The crucial grounds, I believe, not only in this constituency, but many others. That has to, I believe, lie at the feet of the government. It is a failure."

Independent candidate Killian Mangan believes a lack of local and regional accountability is to blame.

"Matt and Mary - ultimately, you have failed. You failed to provide a 24-7 Cath Lab. It's very easy to just say there's a problem, right? You've been doing it for many years now, Matt, right? To just say that there's a problem. It's an easy thing to do. It's way harder to actually come up with a solution. Ireland is the second most centralised country in the OECD. That is the problem. The problem is we don't have accountability locally and regionally for our health service. It's all centralised in Dublin."